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Italian Butter Cookies
Italian butter cookies are soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies that go perfectly with all things holiday. Serve up these tasty cookies with your next cookie exchange or at a holiday party and see how fast they become a favorite.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg (separated)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups flour
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar together.
- Add the salt and mix.
- Separate the egg, set the egg white aside.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla to the dough. Mix well.
- Fold in the flour. I prefer to do this by hand, it will take a few minutes and the dough will be crumbly but should come together when pressed.
- Shape dough into a log about 12 inches long. Roll tightly in parchment, making sure the dough is pressed together well.
- Twisting the ends of the parchment will help this. Roll the wrapped dough on the counter a few times to ensure it is a smooth log shape.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, slice into cookies about ¼ inch thick. I get about 32-40 each time I make this.
- Whisk 1 teaspoon water into the egg white to create an egg wash.
- Place cookies on parchment lined baking sheets and brush with reserved egg white.
- Sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar or festive sprinkles.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 14-16 minutes. The edges should be pale golden brown.
Notes
Another classic shape is a pretzel shape, refrigerate the dough after shaping and then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar before baking.
Nutrition
Calories: 50kcalCarbohydrates: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 41mgPotassium: 6mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 95IUCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.2mg
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